Watching Olympics at Work Costing Companies

7/31/2012 3:15PM

Live streaming of the London Olympics provides avid fans with up-to-the-minute entertainment, but SmartMoney's Charles Passy points out it is also costing companies $650 million in employee productivity. Photo: Reuters.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... the ... the the ... you know to what seem easy right now and not what you say the U S gymnastics team ... building more productive than many of who he is ... and Charles Passy from ... from from ... MarketWatch is here tells LaVette today about ... how this in fact is that ... this this this habit that American him what does seem to have them what's new in peace during the era ... there were thousands in fact creating ... something of a productivity loss for profit companies ... bidding for a number or ... are we I mean this is an issue you see crop up with a lot of major sporting events on and just major events but um ... the thing with the Olympics is some ... of productivity experts to look at this and said that this is kind of a perfect storm of the fact that the ... teams are taking place in the evening in Europe ... but it's ... a good time watching for us ... the streaming capabilities with NBC isn't done basically makes it very very easy for us to do it ... so aam ... at least one expert that I ... spoke with ... the ... crunch the numbers and said this is about six hundred and fifty million dollars loss for now I'm I'm thinking if injures him of course the smart ... money is going ... to have it with his taxi to profit from continuing as the number that you know a ... lot people settle in the middle of just come up with these numbers in touch with some real map here and some real real looking at it what what would we know from various surveys is at least twelve percent of the American population is is is copping to the fact that jobs are watching the games that work ... on this one thirty that that that surprise forty ... forty five percent I think so we went to work with a minimum of twelve percent of that and are doing it aam we ... we know what the average white collar worker makes up um and then we know that ... the prodigal watch we triggered a minimum estimate ... of about ten minutes of aam of a day of watching ... over the two week period ... um ... the guy with the wages are do the math ... and the come out with about six hundred and fifty million dollars ... of that to you by the way does not include ... in some ways we can be the more critical issue which is the band with ... a well um so of soap which is which is something you really can put a finger on but you're going as to what it is just as a guy who says that a quarter point is one only one really is that because this is the key here ... as usage Asus training ... coverage for NBC and elsewhere to summer getting around and cease controls and a new BBC and the like and ... an assist anyway when the data networks and another one basically I mean the end of the word of the way a sort of describe it is you know you're in you're about to defend your watching badminton you're enjoying yourself what ... to do with me is diligently working on the least on being productive but the prom is your slowing down the network and making it harder for me to do my work ... now in large companies with robust networks this may not be a prom but for smaller firms this could be a very real problem right I hit a huge factor ... now costs that they the fact that it lands in time's eye and ... that is just brought in the middle about about what to of course is is a problem for companies in the ANC's for those who want to slack off at writes that it's it's again with with with with with experts I spoke to give using the phrase the perfect storm between having the availability do this and keep in mind in Beijing ... um we didn't have the availability of streaming like we have now aam and and the fact that um ... you know the time difference but also ... you know I mean is the Summer Olympics but it's the summer ... people slack off most during the summer every productivity experts said ... this is not something you imagine people don't wanna work during relied on other noted that the skin by ... just watching the chosen causes like engaging on Twitter Analysys forms in which they couldn't discuss the time were were were were really just looking at the at the phenomenon of of of streaming of watching them live the fact of the matter is everybody's checking ... you know the web for scores for updates and then ... you know ... using social media to comment on it so you have is the isthe was a lot of time wasting going on